National Football League
New England 27, Miami 24
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 24, 2011
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Temperature: 30°
Head Official: Alberto Riveron
Attendance: 68756

Tom Brady rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the New England Patriots overcame a 17-point halftime deficit and clinched a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs with a 27-24 home triumph over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.

Former Dolphin Wes Welker had 12 receptions for 138 yards and Deion Branch had a 1-yard touchdown catch for AFC East champion New England (12-3), which recorded its seventh straight victory and inched closer to the AFC's top seed.

The Patriots remained one game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens (11-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4), who posted victories over the Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams, respectively, on Saturday.

After torching the Dolphins for a career-high 517 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener, Brady completed just three of his first 14 passes for 37 yards on Saturday. The reigning NFL MVP then caught fire in the second half - completing 10 straight passes at one point - and finishing 27 of 46 for 304 yards with a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork recovered Matt Moore's fumble and the Patriots trimmed the deficit to seven (17-10) after Branch caught Brady's 1-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone midway through the third quarter.

Brady then leveled the contest nearly five minutes later by bulling in from 1 yard out.

With Miami wilting, New England kept the pressure on by scoring 10 points in the fourth - capped by Brady's second career two-touchdown rushing performance.

Moore tossed touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall to Charles Clay in the first half, and his third scoring strike to Davone Bess brought the Dolphins back to within 27-24 with 1:48 remaining.

Marshall, who reeled in a 19-yard scoring strike on a slant route, had seven receptions for 156 yards for Miami (5-10).

Reggie Bush rushed 22 times for 113 yards to move over the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his career. Bush, whose previous season high was 581 yards in 2007, exited the contest with an apparent knee injury in the fourth quarter.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Miami   New England
Reggie Bush Player Stevan Ridley
22 Attempts 13
113 Yards 64
5.1 Avg Yards 4.9
0 Touchdowns 0
12 Long 18
Receiving
Miami   New England
Brandon Marshall Player Wes Welker
6 Receptions 12
143 Yards 138
23.8 Avg Yards 11.5
1 Touchdowns 0
47 Long 42
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Miami 374 121 253 3 1 0 4.0 0
New England 400 119 281 3 2 1 5.0 2
Upcoming Games
  • New England will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Patriots have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Miami will play their next game at home against N.Y. Jets. The Dolphins have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.